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"Politicians from Turkey and the U.S. comment two countries relationship and current problems, foresight future relations... Presidents, Prime  Ministers, Ministers and Members of Parlement  all speak to TURKOFAMERICA, share their experiences and views with our readers. All exclusive interview from Ankara and Washington, D.C...  

 

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Voters Show Great Interest in the Presidential Election

With five days remaining until the presidential election on November 3, early voting is continuing non-stop. While President Trump is busy continuing his election campaign, we see that the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Joe Biden is organizing his program with small groups. Trump and his supporters are ridiculing Biden and using his slips of the tongue against him, such as him saying, “I am Joe Biden, and my wife is Joe Biden, too,” in his speech yesterday, and also other statements concerning completely unrelated matters. While Biden was 10–12% ahead of Trump on average in the opinion polls, this gap has fallen to 7% this week.

While the number of citizens who have already voted has exceeded 73 million so far, 48 million voted via postal voting, and 25 million citizens cast their ballots by going to polling stations. We see that many people vote by mail, mainly due to the increased number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. I, too, voted by mail last week. But I should admit that this was not as exciting as casting your vote for the ballot box. Yesterday, I was in Bethesda, 20 minutes away from Washington, D.C. There were long queues at the early voting center that I went to. I saw both Biden supporters and Trump supporters approach the voters, who had formed a line to vote, and give them promotional brochures. Similarly, the garden of the polling place was full of election posters for both candidates. I have seen that, despite long queues, the voting process is continuing very swiftly and without any problems.

I Asked Voters in the U.S.: Which Candidate Do They Prefer?

I had a nice conversation with approximately 5 different voters. Of these 5, 4 indicated that they would vote for Biden, whereas 1 voter said that they would vote for Trump. The voter who said that they would vote for Trump was a retired soldier. When I asked why he would vote for Trump, he  said that Trump was taking care of them and added that they liked Trump’s “America First” slogan. It is already expected that the majority of police officers and soldiers will vote for Trump, so there is no surprise there. One of Biden’s supporters had Obama’s picture on his t-shirt. He said that they had been Democrat since they were a child and believed Biden would save the country. The striking thing I noticed about the voters is that they were from every age group and profile. It is tough to guess who will win the election. Even if one candidate gets millions of more votes than the other, the other can get the majority of the delegates in the swing states and still win it: This is the kind of competition that[WE1]  we are witnessing.

Who was the preferred presidential candidate in the capital and surrounding areas in 2016?

Washington, D.C. and the surrounding states are predominantly known to vote for Democratic candidates. Therefore, Biden is expected to get more votes in the district that I visited. While Hillary got 90.9% of the votes in Washington, D.C. during the 2016 presidential elections, Trump got 4.1% of the votes. In Maryland, a neighboring state, 60.3% of the voters voted for Hillary, and 33.9% voted for Trump. Both candidates do not spend much time in states  where they are confident they will win; their campaign processes are more focused on the swing states. There is essential dynamism and excitement, especially in states such as Pennsylvania, Florida, and Michigan.

Critical Run for the Senate

Even if the public opinion and the media are completely focused on the presidential elections, there is also a competition for all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats, two of which are special in the Senate.  There are 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats (including two Independents) in the U.S. Senate, and the Democrats will need to win 3 or 4 seats in order to gain a majority. You need 51 in order to have a majority in the Senate. Right now, Democrat and Republican candidates are competing fiercely in 9 states, and the race is like a battleground, especially in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. While the surveys between Lindsey Graham, one of the senators closest to Trump, and his opponent, the Democrat candidate Harrison, are head-to-head, it is very likely that the Republican Senator Tillis, whose name has been mentioned a lot due to his plans against Turkey, will lose to his opponent, Democrat Cal Cunningham. While it is expected that the Democrats will take the House of Representatives again, if Republicans lose the Senate and Trump wins, a 4-year incumbency in hell will be ahead for President Trump. As you may recall, the House of Representatives impeached Trump with the majority votes of Democrats, and the Senate acquitted him with the majority votes of Republicans. Democrats dominating the Senate will bring along a lot of troubles for Trump. If Biden wins, but the Republicans gain a majority in Senate, it will not be easy for Biden to get laws passed through Congress.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Biden:" If I get elected, the coronavirus vaccine will be free."

With COVID-19 cases climbing to 9 million, the number of casualties reached 230 thousand in the U.S., which is currently the epicenter of COVID-19. A critical warning has come from experts as the number of cases in the U.S. continues to rise at pace. In the announcement, it was stated that the number of deaths could reach 480,000 in February unless all Americans wear masks. The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, stated that the number of patients being admitted to hospitals had begun to increase in 75% of the hospitals throughout the U.S., where the number of daily cases has increased to 85,000.

Having announced his plan to fight COVID-19, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Joe Biden accused President Trump of failing to do so.

Biden, who addressed voters in Wilmington, DE, with 10 days to go until the November 3 elections, said, “When a safe and effective vaccine is found, the COVID-19 vaccine will be free for everyone, whether you have health insurance or not.”

Biden, who criticized his biggest rival Trump and his administration, said that the U.S. had faced a great crisis for around eight months, but President Trump did not have any plans to solve this crisis. Arguing that COVID-19 dwarfed anything the U.S. faced in the recent history, “and (it) isn’t showing any signs of slowing down,” as Biden said.

The 77-year-old politician, who stated that he would prepare a national plan regarding COVID-19 as a matter of urgency if elected, said, “We will overcome the pandemic and return to our normal lives with this plan.”

Biden had criticized Donald Trump severely in his latest speech, which was broadcast on television, saying, “He has abandoned you, your family and the whole United States.”

Biden intends to impose a mask mandate and bill the COVID-19 tests, PPE supply, reopening guidelines, and the distribution of vaccines to the government. He stated,  “I'll reach out to every governor in every state, red and blue, as well as mayors and local officials during the transition to find out what support they need and how much of it they need. I’ll ask the new Congress to put a bill on my desk by the end of January, with all the resources necessary to see how both our public health and our economic response can be seen through the end, what is needed.”

The Biden Plan to combat Covid-19 and prepare for future global health threats:

More Details: https://joebiden.com/covid-plan/

Current COVID-19 Status in the U.S.:

COVID-19 Cases: 8,823,899

Total Deaths: 230,045 

Total Recovered: 5,735,731

Reference: Worldmeter

 

Nine neighborhoods of New York shut down again.

In a press conference, New York mayor Bill de Blasio declared that nine zip codes that have reported a more than 3% increase in new cases in the past week will be shut down starting Wednesday.In some neighborhoods of New York, schools and nonessential businesses are to be closed again due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio stated, “The decision to shut down these neighborhoods aims to prevent a bigger second COVID-19 wave by getting the situation under control.”

De Blasio added that the shutdown may last from two to four weeks and that they are closely monitoring eleven additional areas that they consider as a growing problem in the city.

According to the plan, that includes six neighborhoods in Brooklyn, two areas in Queens, and one neighborhood in Far Rockaway, where public and private schools, kindergartens, and nonessential businesses will be closed.

Restaurants will only be able to provide takeaway and delivery services.

Public schools in New York, where classes had already been postponed twice previously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had been opened last Thursday. 

As the daily rate of increase for COVID-19 cases in the city had been below 3% since June, these areas were regarded as a safe zone where schools could be opened, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There are more than 1,800 schools and more than 1 million students in New York, which has the most extensive school system in the U.S.

 

President Trump Announces Barrett as Supreme Court Nominee

President Donald Trump announced that he nominated Amy Coney Barrett as the new Supreme Court judge to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat after she passed away.

After Ginsburg, considered to be among the liberal wing, passed away last week, Trump stated that he wanted to pick the new judge prior to the presidential elections that will take place on November 3rd. Days later, he announced Judge Barrett as his nominee during an official ceremony at the White House.

Remarks from President Trump:

-Apart from matters of war and peace, the nomination of a Supreme Court justice is the most important decision an American President can make.”

-Amy Coney Barrett will decide cases based on the text of the Constitution as written.

-I am supremely confident that Judge Barrett will issue rulings based solely upon a fair reading of the law.  She will defend the sacred principle of equal justice for citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed.

Remarks from Judge Barrett:

I am deeply honored by the confidence that you have placed in me.(President)

If confirmed, I would not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle, and certainly not for my own sake.  I would assume this role to serve you.

***The President’s nominee must be approved by the Senate. If Barrett is approved by the Senate, conservatives will have the majority of the seats at the Supreme Court, the highest court in the US, with six against three.

Statements from some Senate Members:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “President Trump could not have made a better decision. Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally impressive jurist and an exceedingly well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD): “The president had a strong list of principled and conservative jurists from which he could have chosen, and I applaud him for his selection of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY): “Judge Barrett is an excellent choice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She is exceptionally qualified and her record demonstrates an unwavering fidelity to the Constitution.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Judge Barrett is highly qualified in all the areas that matter – character, integrity, intellect, and judicial disposition. She is an outstanding #SupremeCourt nominee by President @realDonaldTrump.”

Who Is Judge Barrett?

Judge Barrett has served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 2017.  Before becoming a judge, she was Diane and M.O. Miller, II Research Chair in Law and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, where her scholarship focused on constitutional and statutory interpretation and the Federal courts.  Judge Barrett has also served as a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Law School and the John M. Olin Fellow in Law at George Washington University Law School.  Earlier in her career, she practiced at the prestigious law firms Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin LLP and Baker Botts LLP.  Judge Barrett clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Antonin Scalia and for Judge Laurence H. Silberman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  She is a magna cum laude graduate of Rhodes College in Tennessee and a summa cum laude graduate of Notre Dame Law School, where she graduated first in her class.legal analysis, and generous spirit.  Judge Barrett lives in Indiana with her husband Jesse and their seven children.

 

The City of New York is in Economic Crisis

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio  made a reminder that unless the required funds and subsidies are provided and agreements reached with the unions, he would have to lay off 22,000 city employees.

Mayor Blasio said that the city had lost 9 billion dollars in revenue due to the Coronavirus pandemic and that the annual budget deficit was 7 billion dollars. Mayor de Blasio announced that as of October 1, approximately 500 people working in his office, himself being in the first place, will take unpaid leave for one week in order to contribute a little to the city's budget.

At the press conference held by New York Mayor, Blasio said: "Today is a day when we have to take one more step. Therefore, every municipality employee in my office will be taking a one-week unpaid leave from October 1. I will also take a week of unpaid leave. The city workers will work a week less and get less salary", he said.

Mayor Blasio Called out to New Yorkers- Call Your Representatives

NYC Mayor  Blasio: "New Yorkers, push your federal representatives to help us receive this financial support. I ask your representative in the capital Albany to pressure the authorities so that the city can get long-term loans."

Mayor Blasio says that he trusts the NYPD. 

Mayor Blasio stated that he trusts the New York City Police Department (NYPD) concerning armed assault prevention and said: "Right now, we are facing a huge storm in New York. I guess New Yorkers understand this. We live the hell in this city. Everything unraveled at the same time because of the coronavirus pandemic."

Retirement Increases in NYPD this year

Police authorities have stated that over a period spanning from the end of May to September this year, thousands of New York Police Officers stepped down or retired, which suggests an increase of 75% when compared to the same period last year.

NYC Crime Rate Statistics:

The number of armed assaults increased in all boroughs except Staten Island. Last month, in August, there was a 166% increase in the number of armed incidents (242 v. 91).

Important data from the previous month's crime statistics:(August 2020)

-Murders increased by +34% in the first eight months of 2020, compared to the first eight months of 2019 (291 v. 217).

-Compared to the 91 shooting incidents taking place in August 2019, there were 242 city-wide shooting incidents in August 2020, which corresponds to an increase of +166%. 

-From the beginning of the year to August 31, there is a + 87% increase in city-wide shooting incidents (1,014 vs. 541).

-In August, there has been a +22% increase in the number of thefts (1,310 vs. 1,076), and from the beginning of the year to August 31, there is an increase of +42% (9,942 vs. 7.008).

Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian and Swedish Officials

A Norwegian far-right politician announced that he nominated the U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his Middle East efforts. Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a parliament member of the far-right Progress Party in the Norwegian Parliament, said President Trump should be selected for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the agreement reached between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Israel and the United Arab Emirates had reached a historic agreement last month for the bilateral normalization of relations. The deal is expected to be signed on September 15 at the White House. 

In the meantime, Magnus Jacobsson from the Swedish Parliament was the second person to nominate President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Jacobsson said that the reason behind this nomination for the prize is Trump's conciliation and peacemaking efforts between Kosovo and Serbia.

Former President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 at the very beginning of the first term of his early presidency.

Saying last year, "I would get a Nobel Prize for many reasons if they gave it out fairly," President Trump stated that the Nobel Prize is not awarded fairly.

In the written statement made by White House Spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany, reporting that President Trump is nominated for Nobel Peace Prize at a time, where the international community's support for peace treaties and trust for the Middle East are tested, she stated, "By uniting two of America's closest partners in the region, this agreement will create a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous the Middle East." 

WHO DECIDE THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS AND HOW ARE THEY DECIDED?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee selects Nobel Peace Laureates, and the Norwegian Parliament appoints this committee, which comprises five members. Members of the committee, who are expected to represent the power of political parties equally, can remain in office for six years and be re-elected. Furthermore, all members must be citizens of Norway.

WHO GETS NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?

An individual or an institution cannot nominate themselves for the Nobel Peace Prize. Those who can be selected are listed as follows:

Apart from current heads of state, members of national assemblies and national governments (cabinet members, ministers),

Members of the International Court of Justice and the International Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague,

Nobel Prize is the prize awarded by the association established by Alfred Nobel to reward those who serve for humanity. The first Nobel Prizes were given in 1901. The first Nobel Prize winner in Turkey was Orhan Pamuk. In 2015, Nobel Prize in Chemistry was received by Aziz Sancar, a Turkish scientist.

U.S. Envoy to Syria will be in Turkey this week.

U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Ambassador James Jeffrey and Special Envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn will go to Switzerland and Turkey for official visits. During the visit, which will take place August 22-28, the two diplomats will first go to Geneva and attend the Syrian Constitutional Committee meetings that are to start on August 24.

The purpose of the visit is to hold official talks on the constitutional reform process in Syria, conducted under the leadership of Syria, and under the United Nations' auspices.

Ambassador Jeffrey will meet with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen and other members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and some other diplomats.

Syrian Constitutional Commission Reunites

The U.S is not directly involved in the commission established under the supervision of the UN. However, U.S. officials aim to support the work of the commission established by the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to resolve the political disputes in Syria.

According to the statement made by the U.S. Department of State, former U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, James Jeffrey will meet the representatives of Syrian opposition groups and Syrian NGOs in Istanbul on August 26 to evaluate the latest situation in Syria.

Ambassador Jeffrey will go to Ankara on August 27-28. It is stated that Jeffrey will meet senior Turkish officials, during which they are expected to discuss the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

It was noted in the statement of the U.S. Department of State that Jeffrey would also discuss the continuation of the fight against ISIS and other regional issues with Turkish officials.

Biden: "Kamala Harris is the Right Choice"

Democratic Presidential Candidate Biden and VP Candidate Kamala Harris' first public appearance as a ticket — and her official introduction as VP candidate — took place in Wilmington, Delaware.

"I have no doubt that I picked the right person. Kamala Harris is smart, tough, experienced, and a proven fighter for the backbone of this country, the middle class. She knows how to make the hard calls. She's ready to do this job on day one. We're both ready to get to work, rebuilding this nation," said Joe Biden.

Explaining the process of determining his Vice President candidate based on his own experience, Joe Biden stated that when the former President Barack Obama asked him what he wanted most importantly at that time, he said that he wanted to be the last person in the room before Obama made important decisions. "That's what I asked Kamala," he said.

Joe Biden said Kamala Harris is "a child of immigrants" who "knows personally how immigrant families enrich our country as well as the challenges of what it means to grow up Black and Indian-American in the U.S.A"

"We have a public health crisis, but months later, the President has shown no real leadership. Local governments are trying to fill the vacuum of leadership from the President, who has not put forward a plan on how to get this pandemic under control. Instead, he's insisting that this virus will disappear by signing executive orders", Biden said and criticized the Trump Administration's approach to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Kamala Harris: "America is crying out for leadership!"

"President's mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We're experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience, demanding change. America is crying out for leadership. Yet we have a President who cares more about himself than the people who elected him. But here's the good news, we don't have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In 83 days, we have a chance to choose a better future for our country," she said.

Joe Biden's Son; Beau Biden

Kamal Harris spoke of her work with Biden's son Beau Biden during the financial crisis while both were state attorneys general, saying, "We spoke almost every day, and I learned quickly that Beau was the kind of guy who inspired people to be a better version of themselves."

About Senator Kamala Harris

Personal Birthdate: October 20, 1964 

Birthplace: Oakland, California 

Education: Howard University, B.A. political science, and economics, 

1986; the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 1989 

First African-American, first woman, and first Asian-American to become attorney general of California.

First South Asian-American attorney general in the U.S.

First Indian-American and 2nd African-American woman to serve as a Senator. 

First African-American woman to represent California in the Senate. 

She is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants

The U.S. Provides Emergency Assistance to Lebanon

The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Trump administration would provide $17 million of aid to Lebanon and that the U.S. would continue to help the Lebanese people recover from this tragedy.

Pompeo also stated that he agreed with the call for the U.S. to conduct a transparent investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.
 
Secretary Pompeo also wished safe travels for John Barsa, Acting Administrator of USAID who will travel to Beirut, Lebanon.Before Deputy Administrator departure, Barsa said that assistance would be directed to medical authorities at the American University of Beirut and the  American Lebanese University. The United States is providing money to the World Food Program for emergency meals for about 300,000 people of Lebanon affected by the explosion at the port in addition to emergency medical kits.
 
President Trump also spoke separately with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron after the Beirut explosion. 
 
Secretary Pompeo Travels to Europe:
 
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo will travel to  Czech Republic; Slovenia;Austria; and Poland August 11 to August 15. Secretary’s visit in Poland will commemorate the centennial of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish forces defeated the Bolsheviks.

 

President Trump Signs Executive Order on new Stimulus Package

Negotiations regarding the new Covid-19 stimulus package aimed at relieving the Coronavirus pandemic's effects on the economy in the U.S. did not yield any results. Regarding the economic package, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including the extension of unemployment benefits.

Over the course of the day, the White House had indicated that President Trump would sign a series of executive orders to take action against the congestion in Washington,DC.

One major point of no-consensus in the discussions between the White House and the Congress regarding the new aid package was for how much longer the $600 weekly federal aid provided to those who were unemployed during the pandemic, would continue.

The executive order President Trump signed on Saturday at the golf club in New Jersey shows that unemployment benefits will continue, albeit at $400.

President Trump said, "That's the amount they need. That's the amount they want.  It gives them a great incentive to go back to work."

"Not a perfect solution, but that is the best we can do at the moment."

"If Democrats continue to hold this critical aid package hostage, I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the aid they need," President Donald Trump said in a ballroom at his golf resort.

Democrats had said in the past that they would reduce the price tag of their $3.4 trillion bills to $2 trillion but also stated that the White House should also increase the amount of the aid package. Republicans wanted the amount of the new aid package to be limited to $1 trillion.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said, "This is not a perfect solution. We'll be the first ones to say that- but it is all that we can do, and all the President can do within the confines of his executive power."

Executive Order-Details:
 
 
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